Google Authorship – Now For Something Completely Different
Written by Titus Hoskins

For some time now, I have been trying to get my Google Authorship
“markup” to work with my online content. Years ago, I went through
all the directions from Google and had my name/content verified by the
big G or so I thought. Google Author Markup

However, back then Google did not display my picture and link
to my Google+ profile or even to my old Google profile – remember
those. I didn’t worry, it was just something else I would get around
and fix when time allowed.

Quite frankly, I didn’t take Google Authorship all that seriously.

Why you ask?

Mainly because, I had been conditioned by the countless programs
offered by Google and then only to find out they had been canceled
months later… anyone remember Google Buzz?

Then came the latest bombshell – Google would be using Authorship
as a ranking factor. How important a ranking factor remains to be
seen but as we move away from the old SEO factors and links – your
authorship profile and the number of readers/followers you have
in your Google+ circles will take on much more importance.

Feels like the whole SEO game has changed when it now comes to ranking
in Google… it is no longer about Links and PageRank, but about
how large of an online readership or following you have in not only
Google+, but Twitter, Facebook, YouTube… and the other social networks.

So getting your Google Authorship and picture displayed with your
content is crucial for success on the new web. Don’t forget about
link building but just make sure Google is displaying your picture
and details in their SERPs.

It’s no big secret that for Google, the web user’s experience is
paramount. The better that experience, the higher your Google rankings,
will be.

Just recently, Google started ranking higher those YouTube videos
where watchers stayed the longest… regardless of how many views
or links, it is the videos which command the longest viewing times
being ranked the highest.

The same thing is being applied to general web content and sites…
the content where viewers spend the longest time seems to be ranked
higher. This is common sense – forget about how many links the content
has; if viewers spend two seconds judging it and clicks away – how good
is this content really?

However, if a viewer clicks the link and spends 5, 10 or 20 minutes
reading the content, chances are high the content is exactly what the
viewer is searching for and results in good user experience. Over time,
Google with its constant flow of data and stats can easily rank the
content which supplies the best user experience.

They have always been important factors but now – time spent on site,
bounce rates and even page load times – take on a whole new significance
for ranking high in Google.

That’s why building a large loyal online readership or following can
be vital for the success of your content and site. It’s no longer about
how many links you have but about how many readers/followers/fans you have.

Thankfully, Google is now displaying my Authorship Profile in their SERPs.

As far as I can gather, my main problem was initially signing up to my
Google+ account through my gMail account. A Big mistake!YOU NEED TO SIGN UP TO YOUR GOOGLE+ ACCOUNT WITH YOUR DOMAIN EMAIL ACCOUNT

This makes it easier for Google to verify you and your content.

Eventually I did sync my Google+, Google Chrome, Google Profile, gMail
account… all under one Google identity. But I wasted a lot of valuable
time in building my online readership though Google Authorship in the
meanwhile. Kick myself number 245.

Another issue which could cause problems. Make sure you addBY
to all your articles and content you want displayed with Google Authorship.
In other words, just adding your name or Google+ may not be enough – make
sure you add “by” followed by your Google+ name/link.

I also found it helpful to link to your new content via your Google+ account
and also you can use the LABS section in your Google Webmaster Tools to verify
or list your content links.

Another issue I found concerned my mugshot or photo in my Google+ account,
for some reason the software wasn’t picking up a person! So I changed my
image and made sure it fitted the size requirements Google needed. 250px x 250px

Since I write articles and content for other sites, mainly SiteProNews, it
was very important to have my Google Authorship up and running. Not only for
online rankings or visibility but my main reason was list building.

Google Authorship can be the perfect vehicle for building your list of contacts
and not just through your Google+ account, but your own list of contacts which
you totally control.

In essence, the whole Google Authorship program, is a move to a more social
based ranking system. A move away from SEO or online site factors to more emphasis
being placed on the author or the creator of web content. It’s not exactlythe sites
which are important, but the quality of the author’s writing and content which
are important.